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Albert Durrant Watson
by George J. Dance , 1919. ''Courtesy Internet Archive.]] Canadian | ethnicity = | citizenship = British subject | education = | alma_mater = Victoria University, University of Edinborough | period = | genre = | subject = | movement = | notableworks = Love and the Universe, The Immortals, and other poems, 1913 | spouse = | partner = | children = | relatives = | influences = | influenced = | awards = | signature = | website = | portaldisp = }} Dr. Albert Durrant Watson (January 8, 1859 - May 3, 1926) was a Canadian poet and physician.Albert Durrant Watson, CyberHymnal, Web, Feb. 15, 2012. Life Watson was born in Dixie (now part of Mississauga), Canada West (now Ontario), the son of Mary Ann (Aldred) and William Youle Watson. He graduated from Victoria University, and Edinburgh University. He practiced medicine for more than 30 years in the city of Toronto.Albert Durrant Watson, Canadian Poets.http://www.islandnet.com/~sric/Watson_Albert_Durrant.pdf An avid amateur astronomer, he served as vice-president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada 1910-1915, and as its president in 1916 and 1917.Debra Barr and Walter Meyer zu Erpen, "Watson, Albert Durrant”, Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 15, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, Web, Apr. 13, 2015. He held a series of seances from 1918 to 1920 with medium Louis Benjamin."Watson, Albert Durrant", Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, Web., Feb. 15, 2012.] In 1920 Watson converted to the Baha'i religion, and in 1922 published what has been called the "first great English poem" on the Baha'i faith, "A Dream of God". In The Origins of the Bahá’í Community of Canada, 1898-1948, Will C. van den Hoonaard says of him: "If the Baha'i were in search of a 'father' in Toronto, Watson quite deserves that rank."Will C. van den Hoonaard, The Origins of the Baha'i Community in Canada ( ), 102. Google Books, Web, Apr. 13, 2015. He edited the poetry section of the 1926 anthology, Our Canadian Literature: Representative prose and verse, the first anthology of Canadian literature to include prose and the first published after World War I.Robert Lecker, "Watson and Pierce's Our Canadian Literature Anthology and the Representation of Nation," Canadian Poetry: Studies, Documents, Reviews 38 (Spring/Summer 1996. Canadian Poetry, Web, Apr. 13, 2015. He wrote a biography of poet Robert Norwood for Ryerson Press's "Makers of Canada" series.Robert Norwood, Internet Archive, Web, Apr 9, 2012. He died in Toronto, and is buried in Toronto's Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Publications Poetry * The Wing of the Wild-Bird, and other poems. Toronto: William Briggs, 1908. * Love and the Universe, The Immortals, and other poems (with introduction by Katherine Hale). Toronto: Macmillan, 1913. * Heart of the Hills: Poems. Toronto: McClelland, Goodchild, and Stewart, 1917. * The Dream of God: A poem. Toronto: Banner Press, 1922. * Woman: A poem. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1923. * Poetical Works. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1924. *"A Hymn for Canada" in Canadian Medical Association Journal, 1926. x *''The Aureole: A poem''. Toronto, ON: BookThug, 2007. Short fiction *''The Symphony of Life. Westwood, MA: Ariel Press, 1919. Non-Fiction *The Reformation and Simplification of the Calendar. Toronto: Rowsell & Hutchison, 1897. * ''The Sovereignty of Ideals. Westwood, MA: Ariel Press, 1903. * The Sovereignty of Character: Lessons from the life of Jesus. Toronto: William Briggs, 1906; London: Macmillan, 1914. * Three Comrades of Jesus. Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1919. *''The Twentieth Plane: A psychic revelation. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1918; Philadelphia: G.W. Jacobs, 1919. *Birth through Death: The ethics of the twentieth plane: A revelation received through the psychic consciousness of Louis Benjamin'' (with Louis Benjamin). Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1920; New York: James A. McCann, 1920. * Robert Norwood. Ryerson Press (Makers of Canadian Literature), 1923. *"The Norse Discovery of America", Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada 17 (1923), 257ff.Albert Durrant Watson, "The Norse Discovery of America." SAO/NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS), Harvard University. Web, Apr. 14, 2015. *''Mediums and Mystics: A study in spiritual laws and psychic forces'' (with Margaret Lawrence). Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1923. Edited *''Our Canadian Literature: Representative prose and verse'' (edited with Lorne Pierce). Ryerson Press, 1922. Anthologized * Canadian Poets (edited by John W. Garvin). Toronto: McClelland, Goodchild, & Stewart, 1916. * Canadian Poetry in English (edited by Bliss Carman & Lorne Pierce). Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1954. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Albert Durrant Watson, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Apr. 13, 2015. See also *List of Canadian poets *Timeline of Canadian poetry References Notes External links ;Poems *"Lord of the Lands" *Watson, Albert Durrant (1859-1926) (3 poems) at Representative Poetry Online *Albert D. Watson in Canadian Poets *Albert Durrant Watson at AllPoetry (12 poems) ;Books *Albert Durrant Watson at ;About *Albert Durrant Watson at CyberHymnal *Watson, Albert Durrant in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography *Watson, Albert Durrant (1859-1926) at Survival Research Institute of Canada (.pdf) *Albert Durrant Watson in the Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, 1926 *"Watson and Pierce's Our Canadian Literature Anthology and the Representation of Nation" in Canadian Poetry: Studies / Documents / Reviews 38 (Spring / Summer 1996) Category:1859 births Category:1926 deaths Category:Canadian poets Category:20th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Victoria University of Toronto alumni Category:Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Category:20th-century Bahá'ís